February, 2017 Edition

We hope this edition of The Downey Update finds you and your family well and enjoying the new year. While the weather outside is chilly and the country in a bit of a transition, it is nice to always be able to count on the sweet smiles of our teachers, the playful giggles of our little ones and the friendships we find within the halls of Downey. Here’s to a great month celebrating all we love about our preschool!

Dear Downey Families,

February is a month with several special events and also when we begin to focus more energy on planning for the future. Soon we’ll be asking for nominations for executive board positions (Co-President, Treasurer, Fundraiser, Parent Ed, Secretary, Membership) so that we can vote on our nominees in March. If you’re interested in attending a board meeting to see what it’s all about, our next meeting is Monday, February 6th at 6:30pm. We each have unique talents, skills and experiences to offer the school, so please consider one of these roles for the coming year.

One of the enduring traditions of Downey is Special Persons Day! This is a chance for a special person in your preschooler’s life, whose schedule doesn’t allow him or her to participate during normal class time, to come and play. This year, SPD will be held on Saturday, February 11th. Look for details to come from your child’s teacher.

Our Open House will be held during school hours on Friday, February 17th, so if you have friends and neighbors who might be interested in Downey Co-op, please let them know. It will be a great chance to see two of our classes in action and get many questions answered. The following day is our Parent Ed “10 Alternatives to Time Out” with Malkah Bird. For those of you who did not have a chance to experience Malkah’s CPT this year, you won’t want to miss this incredible opportunity!

Finally, this might also be a good time to evaluate how you are doing in meeting your Downey parent requirements:

Have you cleaned or signed up to clean your child’s classroom?

Have you been to at least one, if not two, of your required Parent Ed classes?

If you weren’t able to fulfill all of your classroom participation days last semester, have you signed up for more than the minimum this semester?

Have you marked on your calendars the days in the coming months where we require participation so you don’t accidentally double-book? (For example, Spring Work Night, Easter Egg Hunt, and Church Thank You Coffee?) These events require all-hands-on-deck and are successful because we all work together.

Thank you for everything that you do to help make our community stronger.

Cheers,

Erin

Both Polliwog and Frog classes have spent the month of January exploring baking and bakeries. The children brainstormed quite a list of information that they had already experienced, or previously knew, about bakeries. After the list was started, and continued to grow as more books were read, the “creation” piece took off!

The children painted posts and a ceiling, built a stove and oven, created a display case and started taking orders. They all seemed to enjoy creating the different “treats” that they could offer their customers. Between the two classes, our bakery built up quite an assortment of goodies including cookies, breads, cakes, cupcakes and pies.

So many “academic” skills were practiced while having so much fun. The Frogs even got to visit a working bakery last Friday when we walked to Bittersweet and decorated our very own cupcakes! Feel free to come and take a look at how their hard work has paid off!

-Mrs. Lavold

January was a busy month. It was unusually wet and not snowy. Tadpoles tried to make it colorful by making puff ball rainbow clouds and painting with bright colors. We continued our snow theme without the snowy weather, painting and decorating snowmen. We won’t give up on the snow! Tadpoles made winter more fun by having a pajama day and baking blueberry muffins.

Three of our Tadpole families swam away in January for various reasons, but two new Tadpoles, twin girls, Beatrice and Magdalene, joined our little pond. Please welcome the Barnes family to Downey.

In February, we will play with shapes more than usual. Valentine’s Day is low key at Downey. If you’d like to hand out Valentines, that is ok. You just put them on the art mat before class, and the children can take their goodies home after school.

Remember to bring a warm set of clothes and some rain boots. Check your Downey calendars for coming events. Thank you to my parents for all their hard work and patience.

As always, thank for choosing Downey.-Mrs. Egan

PARENT ED

There is still time to register for the “10 Alternatives to Time Out” Parent Ed event on Saturday, February 18- 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Century Hall. (See Bloomz invite to sign up.) This Parent Ed focuses on one of the most challenging topics for parents and teachers -finding effective tools for discipline. The workshop will discuss some of the detriments of using “time out” as a discipline approach and also offer ten practical alternatives and strategies for helping adults and children understand and manage difficult behaviors, while preserving connections and maintaining a respectful home or school environment.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided. As a reminder, all families are required to attend at least 2 Parent Ed sessions throughout the school year.

For questions, please contact Annie Hostetter.

SCHOOL’S OUT

Don’t forget.- There is no school on Monday, February 20th in honor of President’s Day.

OPEN HOUSE – 2017-18 REGISTRATION

February 17 | 9:30-11:00 a.m.

At Downey Preschool, we believe that children learn best through play, and we have a lot of fun doing it! For a sneak peek into Downey’s playful approach to early childhood education, pop in for a visit during our Open House to see our classes in action. Open House is the perfect chance to tour the school, explore the classrooms, meet the teachers, chat with Downey families, and, of course, join in on some playful learning.

::: About Downey ::: Downey is a non-profit cooperative school for early education providing classes for ages 2-5 and practice preschool starting at 18 months. A co-op preschool is a parent-led organization. Parents come together to run the school — they hire the teachers, manage the organization, perform jobs for the school, and participate in the classroom from time to time.

::: What you’ll see when you visit ::: Every day at Downey, you’ll see self-directed open play where kids explore the world at their own pace. But class sessions are also balanced with structured activities such as singing, stories, playground time for large muscle coordination, & snack time for socializing. During your visit, you’ll see easel painting, sculpting, drawing, coloring, construction play, building blocks, performance & imaginative play, science & engineering activities, books & literature-based play, puzzles, math games, dress-up & costumes, rhythm & music, and lots of playful learning.